| Vodafone Australia |
| |
Vodafone Australia: TAPPING INTO UNIQUE EMPLOYEE NEEDS AND MOTIVATIONS THROUGH WORKFORCE SEGMENTATION
|
| At the heart of effectively managing different generations is the acknowledgement that each generation is
diverse in terms of its attitudes, motivations and needs in the workplace. Fundamentally, different employees
have different attitudes, motivations and needs. That is, what inspires one employee to perform at their best
may be very different to what inspires another. The question is: how do organizations tap into these different
attitudes, motivations and needs to maximize the potential performance of each and every employee? |
| |
Organizations at the leading edge of workforce
management are beginning to use more sophisticated
techniques to understand and deliver to individual employee
needs and motivations.
These techniques, such as attitudinal segmentation, have
been applied to customers for years, to improve customer
intimacy and retention. Now hewitt is working with
organizations to apply these techniques to the workforce.
Recently, hewitt engaged with Vodafone Australia, a
telecommunications organization, to better understand the
different attitudinal and motivational segments that exist
within its workforce and to tailor the organization's people
strategies, programs and practices. The objective was
to maximize the potential performance of each employee
segment.
Using an online survey of approximately 300 employees,
hewitt collected key employee data, including individual
career motivations and values, current perceptions of the
workplace, engagement, demographics, performance ratings,
and people practice preferences on leadership, reward, and
learning and development, for example.
Five Employee Segments
The employee data was analyzed to create the five employee
segments specific to Vodafone Australia. These were:
| • |
Motivated by work/life integration: "I can bring my whole
self to work. I seek to integrate my work and personal
goals and priorities - both are important to me". |
| |
|
| • |
Motivated by security and stability: "I work for the money,
but I'm here to stay. I like to know where I stand so I know
my job is safe and secure". |
| |
|
| • |
Motivated by challenge: "I'm engaged, enjoy what I
do, and want to be the best in my field. I want to be
challenged, and I want to make a difference". |
| |
|
| • |
Motivated by leading and inspiring others: "I strive to
lead, inspire and engage others towards a common goal.
I am passionate about the organization and want the best
for the business and its people". |
| |
|
| • |
Motivated by independence and creativity: "I'm creative
and entrepreneurial, but I like to work autonomously and
on my own terms. Don't constrain me with unnecessary
rules and structure; otherwise, I'll take my ideas
elsewhere". |
|
|
Each segment viewed aspects of the employment experience
differently and was motivated by different types of rewards,
careers, learning and development and leadership styles.
Fully leveraging diverse motivations
Understanding the different attitudes and motivations of
different employee segments allowed Vodafone Australia to
then review its people strategies and programs, and identify
opportunities to further maximize the contribution of all
employees. The new segmentation information highlighted
some gaps in the organization's current HR practices which
implied they were not fully leveraging the diverse motivations
of their workforce. HR practices can now be targeted more
specifically to these needs.
For example, career discussions between managers
and employees are now more closely aligned to individual
needs and motivations, and new career paths are being
developed to appeal not only to those whose segments thrive
on promotion, but also to other segments such as those who
thrive on stability and security.
The research also highlighted that the attitudes and
motivations of the people who define and influence Vodafone
Australia's HR practices (mainly HR and senior leaders) had a
significant impact on what is valued and implemented within
the organization.
For example, the research revealed that HR practices were
not sufficiently supporting those people who are motivated
by work/life integration. As a result, this segment was not
reaching their maximum potential. Now, Vodafone Australia is
putting in place a number of flexibility initiatives in order to
help this segment realize their possibility.
One Size Fits All?
'One size fits all' people programs will no longer be adequate
in a competitive talent market. Organizations need to know
with greater certainty how to motivate, recognize, and reward
each employee.
Those that master this will be able to channel scarce
dollars on the aspects of the employment experience that
will most engage employees, predict which job candidates
will be successful, and ensure that top performers and high
potentials don't leave for better employment offers. |
| |
|
|
|
|
Brigit Esselmont, Talent Management Consultant, Hewitt Australia, can be reached at
brigit.esselmont@hewitt.com. |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Hewitt Quarterly Asia Pacific
is made possible through the combined skills and experience of Hewitt consultants from across the Asia-Pacific region.
For further information please contact:
Hewitt Associates
2601-05 Shell Tower
Times Square
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
Tel: (852) 2877-8600
Fax: (852) 2877-2701
editor-hqap@hewitt.com
|
|
| |
|
